The Guardian's Guild: Story Shorts
by J.M.Spellbound
Summary: A collection of shorts from the Guardian's Guild series born of prompt challenges and boredom. Some of these tie in with the main story line, some do not. Silliness to angst and everything in between with this crazy cast of characters. Will be updated as any new little fic-lits find there way into being.
1. Stop it: Wardrums, Dustoff

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs**

 **These were originally done on the blog, but I thought some of you might like to see them on here.**

 **So, here you go. Have some shorts.**

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 **5\. "STOP IT!" Wardrums, Dustoff**

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Snarling a sound that vibrated his whole frame Dustoff clenched his fist, spun around, and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"STOP IT! YOU FRAGGIN BASTARD JUST _STOP_ IT!"

Wardrums didn't even flinch, just took the room shaking yell in stride. Literately. Since he was striding across the makeshift medical bay and snatching hold of the raging medic.

"No." He hissed. "No I will not. You can't just _want_ this time, Dust. It's not going to work!"

"Oh that's fraggin' rich coming from you!" The medic snarled, yanking and pulling against the hold his mate had on him but making no progress in getting free. War was bigger, stronger, and meaner. He wouldn't be getting loose no matter how hard he tried. Not if War didn't want him to because Dust would never hurt him. Just like War would never actually hurt him either.

Even if when they got into these screaming matches that was a little hard to tell.

There was a part of Dustoff that knew he was taking this too far. Knew that this was not the way to handle this, but he couldn't stop himself. He couldn't stand this. It went against everything that made him up.

He hated that they were just _accepting_ it for what it was. That War wouldn't fight it. That he wouldn't fight what he knew wasn't right.

That he wouldn't fight for not only Mercy's memory but the last thing they had left of her.

"Don't tell me what I already know!" War snapped, not letting go even as some of the building anger and fight died in him when he saw the pain swimming in his mate's optics.

Dust was hurting. That he knew very well. He could feel it as much as he could see it. He was as well, but this was not something even he could change. It was out of his hands. No matter how bad he hated it.

"Don't . . . please, Dust." He trailed off into whispers looking away but not letting go. He would never let go. Not of Dust. "I can't . . . there is _nothing_. I can't do _anything._ You know how hard that is for me to say, but this time. . . we're beaten. I'm beaten. There is nothing we can do."

At the words, the tone, and the over all defeat of the larger mech Dust let his own frame sag. His rotor blades quivering with the emotions inside of him. Lowering his head and sighing.

"I know War . . . I . . . I'm sorry I just . . . ."

"Trying to keep the mechling won't change anything. Besides. . . we couldn't if we wanted to. You know that."

"I just. . . ." Sighing again Dust shook his head. "I don't wanna think there was something we could do and didn't."

"There isn't."

And that, sadly, was the truth.

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 **-Jaycee**


	2. Rubber Ducks: Hide, Bee, Jazz, Twins

**Disclaimer: We already know what is mine and what is not**

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 **7\. "Sponges, rubber ducks, duct tape, tarp, and military grade explosives?" Bumblebee, Ironhide, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Jazz**

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 **"** Did you get it?"

Sunstreaker and Sideswipe glanced up from what they were doing to find Jazz had slid into the empty rec room wearing his trademark grin.

Sides snorted out a chuckle and held up a role of tie-dye duct tape. "What do you think?"

Jazz cackled like a mad mech practically skipping forward across the large empty room to slide in to the cluttered table that was covered in various kinds of trouble. The silver saboteur was as giddy as a youngling in a candy shop at the sight of all of it.

"Awesome" He giggled, diving claws first into the assortment of things the twins had pulled together. This was gonna be _fun_.

"We got everything that was on your list." Sunstreaker said as he stood pulling the ends of the huge blue tarp together. "But will you please enlighten me on the reason you wanted sponges, rubber ducks, duct tape, a tarp, and military grade explosives?"

Jazz just grinned. "I owe Ironhide."

"Owe Ironhide?" Sides tilted his head. "Owe Ironhide how?"

"Do you remember last decacycle when he let Rider and Hammer steal my hard copy disks and replace them all with _whale_ songs?"

Sideswipe started snickering. "Oh yeah! I'm still trying to figure out where they got those."

"Smokescreen is a little glitch that's how." Jazz shrugged, but his optics were fond behind his visor.

"But how was it Ironhide's fault?" Sunstreaker lifted an optic ridge.

"It's just fun to blame him." Jazz grinned. "What's the matter? Scared of pranking Hide?"

Both twins glared at him with wide grins. "Bring it on, Jazz mech."

"You finish the trap. I'll find the mechling and his sire."

It was no matter of time at all either before Jazz was back with a giggling yellow bundle of protofrom and wiggling doorwings bouncing on his shoulder. It only took one look at him to know he'd snatched the youngling with out asking too. That kind of figured through. There was no better way to get Hide's attention then to take Bee from where he was supposed to be.

The little mechling's giggles made the whole prospect of Hide's temper far less terrifying.

"What doin' Sunny?" Bee questioned after Jazz had skipped into the room to find Sideswipe stringing something from the ceiling while Sunstreaker dropped soaking wet sponges down in the door after Jazz brought him in.

"Starting trouble." The golden frontliner smirked at him letting the trap's start stay where it was.

"Why?" Bee tilted his head, antennas flickering.

"Because we can." Jazz smirked at him taking him further into the room and sitting him down at a table where the left over duct tape sat. Bee found it in a matter of nanos, squealing happily and snatching it up. Pulling off pieces that Jazz had to tear for him and then sticking it all over himself until he was more tie-dye then yellow.

Even if Jazz was going to have pull it off of him later and try not to hurt his nanites while he did it, he didn't mind. The mechling was having fun and that was what was important.

As Bee played longer with the colorful tape he glanced up at Jazz.

"Why is starin' trouble?"

"We're pranking Hide." Jazz told him with a wink.

Bee gasped, his little hand flying up to cover his mouth as his optics widened. "No." He chirped.

"Yes." Jazz snickered.

"Hide not like pranks." Bee laughed.

"That's what makes it so fun." Sideswipe yelled from across the room as he hopped down from his perch and skipping over with a rope trailing behind him. Bee looked up to where he had been to see a large blue tarp hanging from the ceiling full of something.

"What is that?"

"A tarp full of rubber ducks covered in double sided duck tape." Sideswipe's optic ridges wiggled as he leaned against the table while Sunstreaker walked over from finishing his task.

Bumblebee's head tilted slightly. "Duckies? Why?"

"Because we can." Jazz laughed only to cut it off as a yell echoed through the ship.

"JAZZ!" Ironhide's voice made Bee tuck his antennas and glance up at the silver mech with a look that screamed 'you in _trouble_ '.

Jazz just grinned and leaned against the table, looking toward the door.

"WHERE THE FRAG IS MY MECHLING!?"

The tirade came to a rather abrupt end however when Ironhide threw the rec room door open, marched through, and put his foot dead center of a slippery sponge. And went sliding. With a startled yelp the huge mech twisted forward by one foot, spinning around as if on ice while his whole frame flailing until he ended up under the hanging tarp which Sideswipe promptly pulled a string to and dumped all over his head.

Then of course the shock and force of the falling objects knocked Hide the last bit off his strangled hold on balance and he fell on his aft with a bang that shook the table Bumblebee was sitting on as a rain of tie-dye duct tape covered rubber ducks pelted down from above. The massive ebony mech lay there on the floor for several moments blinking at the ceiling only to finally push himself up right when Jazz clicked a detonator and fireworks went off in a shower of blue, red, white, yellow, and orange from the sides of the room.

Bumblebee threw his hands over his little head clapping and cheering excitably while the twins threw their heads back laughing and Jazz grinned down at the mech on the floor.

Bee's laughter so made it worth the running for his life he was about to be doing.

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 **-Jaycee**


	3. Idea: Bluestreak, Jazz, Twins

**Disclaimer** **: Transformers is not mine. The plot and OCs are.**

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 **21\. "That was your brilliant idea?" Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Jazz, Bluestreak**

This one could have happened near the end of ARLH, I just didn't have room for it.

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A dim glare shown behind Jazz's visor as he sat there in the sand staring at the fidgeting grey mech sitting beside him. The twins were on first watch so they sat on a slightly higher ridge of sand just over to the left looking out over the rest of the resting patrol. Jazz knew he should be in recharge along with the rest of them, but he couldn't get his processor to shut off.

Not after all that slag that just went down. Especially with Bluestreak sitting there playing nervously with one of the patches on his chest that Ratchet had made. His stupid aft should be in recharge by now to, but instead he had picked himself up and scooted close to Jazz staring out at the inkiness of the desert around them now that the fires had burned out.

"So," Jazz finally muttered quietly to the night. "That was your brilliant idea to save us?"

Blue's wings lowered against his back.

"Take a ship with little to no fighting capabilities, that hasn't been started in over twenty vorns, and chase us out into the desert on a hunch?"

"I had to."

"Yea, that's what you keep saying. I need to know why, Blue."

"I'd find that pretty interesting to know as well." Sunstreaker said from his and his twin's perch without looking their way. Instead the huge frontliner kept his dark gaze out over the desert. Sideswipe however, did turn his optics to look down at the pair of them sitting just a bit below them.

"Don't get us wrong, Blue." He said softly. "You saved our afts, we're thrilled you showed up, but mech you're smarter then this. You're not even a pilot. You could've got your stupid aft killed."

"You almost did." Jazz mumbled.

Doorwings hanging low behind his back Bluestreak picked at the patch until Jazz swatted his hands away from it with a scolding glare. At that Blue gave a shrug. His optics fixed on the sand.

"I don't know." He said. "That's what I was trying to say before. I don't really know what it was. I . . . I don't. You all left and I was standing there in that hanger after the ships took off just standing. I couldn't leave. My spark . . . it told me I had to come. I know that doesn't make sense, but it's true. Something told me to."

He was right. It didn't make much sense. Sparks were influential, they made their own decisions and were not afraid to share them with the bots that owned them, but this was a little weird.

The question was more of why. Why would his spark do this? What was he picking up on that he would have possibly known something bad was going to happen? And how had he done it?

None of them knew, but Jazz had a sinking feeling in his tanks they were going to find out very soon.

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 **-Jaycee**


	4. Dare: Hide, Prowl, Smokey, Rider, War

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs**

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 **109\. "Don't you dare." Ironhide, Prowl, Smokescreen, Outrider, Wardrums, Dustoff**

This one didn't actually happen, but I played with the idea.

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It wasn't accomplishing much. It was actually doing the exact opposite of accomplishing anything at all, but that wasn't stopping it. It was possible nothing would stop it.

Because Ironhide and Prowl both wanted nothing more then to just punch that towering mech in the fraggin' nose, but considering the fact that that would probably just make everything worse they were having to refrain. However, that did _not_ mean they couldn't stand there on the other side of the fraggin' room and glare up at the towering shuttleformer as he stood more or less behind his mate who worked on patching the damage Outrider had taken.

Smokescreen sat on the end of the makeshift bench beside Rider watching Dustoff work on sealing the dripping energon leaking down his chest. The big red mech wasn't on any painkillers because Dust didn't have any but he gritted his teeth and sat still while the medic worked to stop him from leaking to death.

Dust said nothing, but then again there wasn't much to say. The building balls of stress behind him were going to explode sooner or later and frankly he'd rather be done stopping Rider from dying before it happened.

Wardrums however, would always be Wardrums.

"You should go now." He rumbled, his deep voice echoing around the cold, dark room. "Take what you've stolen and get out."

"War–" Dust sighed, but Ironhide's snarl cut him off.

"Don't you dare. Don't you fraggin' dare! You leave him _out_ of this! If you'd wanted the mechling you should have been there to save him!"

Fire orangeish red optics lit with fury as the black and gold mech bared his fangs at the smaller ebony one. It wasn't often Ironhide had to look up at a mech but this mech even Optimus only came to the lower chest of. He was … _huge_. He made Grimlock and the rest of the Dinobots seem less massive. They were still bigger then him–apart from Swoop–but Wardrums wasn't just tall. He was built like a mountain as well and it didn't help that his voice sounded like one.

"Don't play at understanding things you are unable to." He warned. "Take him and go. And take your stupid little brothers with you."

Smokescreen and Outrider flinched despite themselves making Dustoff hiss at Rider to be still.

Prowl's doorwings flared, his optics narrowing, and his lips curling up into a sneer of his own. Taking little heed for the fact that Wardrum could pick him up and dangle him around by his sensitive wings should he so choose, Prowl stalked across what was left of this room the helicopter had the audacity to call a medical bay and growled.

"Our _stupid little brothers_ are the only reason you're still breathing you over grown hive hawk." His wings flared wider as Smokescreen's optics widened while War's narrowed. "And I swear to fraggin' Primus if it wouldn't make him hate me I'd kill your damn aft for making them do everything you have!"

Wardrums' optics flashed, Dustoff stilled, Ironhide joined the snarling, and Outrider along with Smokescreen sank down on the bench waiting for the coming explosion.

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 **-Jaycee**


	5. Cuddle: Outrider, Smokescreen

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs**

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 **115\. "Cuddle?" Smokescreen, Outrider**

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Shivers rattling his whole frame Outrider sat on the cold stone ground. Arms wrapped around himself, he tried to get some kind of hold on his internal temperature.

He'd known the poles got cold, but this was fraggin' ridiculousness.

Trudging steps came to his audios making the huge red and black hunter look up to find Smokescreen walking in out of the blowing wind shaking the dirt from his frame. Quickly skipping across the dark cave, muttering to himself the whole way, the tri colored Praxian hurried over and threw himself down on the cave floor next to Rider.

He them promptly went to burrowing into his side, arms coming forward to wrap around his thicker arm as Smokey hid his faceplate away in the thick panels of Outrider's shoulder.

The larger mech straightened a little at the sudden action, looking down at Smokescreen like he'd lost his mind. Which he might actually have.

"Umm . . . Smokey," He muttered, voice shaking with the cold around them. "What are you doing?"

The tri colored mech said something against his shoulder but he couldn't make it out.

Rolling his optics Rider shifted around trying to get his clinging partner off of him. "Smokey."

Another mumble but he still couldn't make it out.

"What the frag are you saying?" Rider huffed.

Snuggling in and refusing to let go Smokescreen answered him once again, but this time Outrider caught a word.

"Cuddle?" Blinking stupidly down at the bright chevron curved back over the Praxian's head Rider snorted. "Did you just say cuddle?"

Suddenly, Smokescreen yanked back and with tired, dim optics he glared up into the pools of cobalt above him.

"Yes, you glitch, I said cuddle! It's cold enough for energon to fraggin' freeze out here! I'm cold! I'm tired! And I don't want to freeze to death in my recharge so suck it up you over grown glitch and _cuddle_ with me!"

And with that he hunkered back down into Outrider's side while the larger mech chuckled fondly shaking his head.

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 **-Jaycee**


	6. Long time: Guild, Hide, Ratchet, OP

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

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 **93\. "Long time no see.", Evermore, Trickster, Optimus Prime, Ironhide, Ratchet**

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She was the last thing in the universe Ratchet expected to find this morning when he walked into the medical bay, but somehow the sight of the beautiful soft purple, blue, and green femme perched on the end of one of his medical berths smiling at him didn't throw the CMO too much of a curve.

He simply stood there for a few klicks staring into those sparkling green optics that seemed to hold galaxies inside of them as she smiled at him until he finally crossed his arms and spoke.

"Evermore? Long time no see."

Her smile widened at him as she pushed herself up right and nodded her own greeting. "Hello, Ratchet. You're looking well."

He grunted, optics looking her up and down while he also did a mental check of schedules wondering where Bumblebee was this morning. He knew that if the Guild member was here for Bee she wouldn't have come to him, but still. When one of the three of them showed up it was always stressful. They always brought their cryptic little messages that didn't make any sense.

"I was fine until you showed up." He grumbled at her. "No offense."

She laughed, that light, airy sound of hers with a roll of her optics. "Oh none taken. We don't have the best track record after all. Trickster is not very good at subtly."

"Hey!" A voice rang out from the back of the bay making Ratchet twist to it and let out a groan at the sight of the long and lanky black mech with the weird audios slide out from behind his rows of shelving holding something that obviously wasn't his.

A datapad.

What the frag did the glitch want with a datapad?

"I take offense to that!" Trickster huffed, blue optics sparkling. Skipping across the bay with the datapad in hand the black mech dipped his helm to Ratchet as he slid in beside his sister. "How you doin', Ratchet?"

"He says he was fine until we showed up." Evermore repeated.

"Oh well, that is sorta to be expected." Trickster laughed.

Ratchet rolled his optics. "What do you two want?"

Trickster grinned. "What? You mean we can't just come and see the bots raising our little brother?"

"No." Ratchet grumbled. "Because you were the one that said he _can't_ know about you."

Trickster snorted. "So now you listen."

"We're always listening, you just don't make a whole frag of a lot of sense." Then, there was Ironhide walking through the bay doors followed by the towering form of the Prime.

Ratchet's optics flashed with surprise at the sight of the pair of them, but Trickster didn't seem all the shocked to see them. With a moment longer it clicked in Ratchet's processor.

Optimus' gift would have told him the Guild was here if Trickster and Evermore allowed it. And the feel of them would have brought Optimus quickly. Bringing Ironhide along as well.

"What are you doing here, Trickster?" Optimus' baritone questioned.

"Always so negative with the lot of you." Trickster smirked.

"Relax, mechs." Evermore's optics gleamed. "For once we're here with good news."

"Really?" Ironhide growled. "We've always had a different definition from you about what _good_ was."

"This time." She shrugged. "I think you might agree."

"What is this about?" Ratchet bit.

"Call it a hint." Trickster's smile gleamed, before he tossed the datapad toward them. Optimus caught it with ease. Pulling it too him, with a lifted optic ridge he scanned the assortment of numbers on the screen. When his bright blue optics lifted again Trickster winked, Evermore smiled, and in a flash of blue along with one of green they were gone.

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 **-Jaycee**


	7. Stay: Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker

**Disclaimer: Yes. We all know.**

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 **56\. "Can I stay with you?" Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker**

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He should be in his berth, but he wasn't.

He should have been in recharge breems ago, but he wasn't. He should not be sneaking down the halls of the ship again in the dead of night, but he was. Keeping to the corners, sliding around where he knew Red's cameras were. He wasn't sure who was on monitor duty, but he wasn't all that keen on being found out.

So Bee slipped around his well used routes, making his way through the ship on slightly wobbly feet heading . . . well actually he didn't know where he was going, but he was going somewhere.

He just didn't want to be in berth. He was too restless. Too many things in his head. So he walked. Not really going anywhere just walking along the dim hallways to keep himself busy.

He hadn't been planning on ending up in front of Sunny's and Sides' door. It just sorta. . .happened. Standing there staring up at the huge slab of grey metal he flicked his antennas back and forth, doorwings and winglets twitching behind him.

Then he tentatively raised his little fist and knocked. Three sharp little bang sounds before he pulled away again and waited.

At first there was nothing, but that wasn't all that surprising considering what time it was, but soon he heard the sounds of footsteps before a panel beeped and the door slide away.

Bumblebee found himself looking up at the huge expanse of Sideswipe's strong legs.

"Half Pint?" Sideswipe's confused tone echoed down at him as Bumblebee tipped his head back as far as it would go so that he could gaze up at the dark blue optics blinking down at him.

Blinking a few times he chirped. "Hi."

Sideswipe's faceplate scrunched up in confusion before he cast his optics around the hallway looking for probably whoever was suppose to be watching the mischievous little mechling. Only there was no bot there, because once again Bee was where he wasn't suppose to be.

Optics fixing down on the little bot again, Sideswipe knelt down to bring himself closer to optic level with the little mechling. Sunstreaker, drawn from their berth, joined his twin at the door looking down with surprised optics to see the youngling standing at their doorway.

"Half Pint, what are you doing here?" Sides questioned him.

"Does Hide or Mia know where you are?" Sunstreaker tagged on.

Bee shook his head back and forth before he quietly muttered. "Me can't recharge. Didn't wanna bother Mia and Hide. Can me stay with you?"

The brothers stared a moment longer until they shared a glance and then Sideswipe reached forward to pick up the little mechling and bring him to his chest.

"Yeah, Half Pint." He told him softly. "You can stay with us."

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 **-Jaycee**


	8. Break: Jazz

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Only the plot and OCs**

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 **64\. "You can't break me." Jazz**

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There was a time in which Jazz had entertained the notion that he would never get like this again. He had told himself many times as his life went on that things were different. That he was different.

That he was no longer a failed monster from the Sea of Rust.

But it was a lie.

No matter where he went. No matter what he did. The truth still bubbled below his easy smile and his playful words.

The son of Supersonic still lurked beneath. In the shadows within his spark and processor that he hid from. In the voices that taunted him in the dead of the night.

The whispers of failure.

No matter the good he tried to do. No matter how far he had come since those vorns among his tribe to the orn he found himself looking up at Prowl's blaster. Under it all was still the scared mechling that was never good enough to please his sire.

Every harsh word and hard hit. It was all still there. Living beneath a smile that was as much a barrier to hide behind as anything else.

He was still that same scared mechling running from all the things that hunted him. The one that signed the death sentences of his own friends. The one that got so many killed because he wasn't good enough.

He was not . . . _good_.

He tried to be, he fought to be, but he. . .wasn't.

He was a slaggin' coward and he always would be.

Shaking his head hard Jazz bit the inside of his cheek, narrowing his optics and turning his gaze from the dark corner he'd been staring at to the line of picture frames above his berth.

There were over a dozen.

Snapshots and stills he'd collected along the vorns, downloaded, printed, and placed in hard copy frames.

There was one of Outrider, Smokescreen, Hammerdown, and Quickfire grinning up at him back when they were still all shorter then him. There was Bluestreak with a lap full of datapads grinning to himself with a stylus stuck out the corner of his mouth. There was Prowl sitting behind his desk wearing one of those oh so very rare smiles. One of Optimus, Elita, Ironhide, Chromia, Ratchet, and Arcee all sitting around a table together talking and laughing. There were the twins covered in Primus awful orange feathers, and green paint looking like the robocats that caught the crystalkeet. There were more ones of Bumblebee then probably even should be counted. Him as an tiny little sparkling covered in paint waddling across the floor. Him a little bit older hanging from Sides' neck wearing a beaming smile as the red mech spun him around the room. Him deep in recharge with Ironhide laid out on the rec room couch. Him scrunched up against Jazz's own cheek pressing a hard kiss to him while Jazz grinned like a small sun.

And so, so many more.

Little stills of his life.

Of his family.

Of. . .the things he was doing right.

His spark warmed a little in his chest as he looked over each one of those photos. Of the bots who owned the smiles in them. Who each picked him up a little more every orn, helping him to keep going, and probably didn't even know it.

This was his life.

This was his _family_.

The one he had found. The one he fought so hard to keep.

The one he would do _anything_ for.

Gaze hardening behind his visor Jazz locked hold of the image of his sire in his thoughts and of all the things the glitch had ever said.

"You didn't beat me." He told his silent berthroom, shoving the image of the old glitch away to replace it with the brightness that had come to be around. "You can't _break_ me. And they are why."

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 **-Jaycee**


	9. Don't Touch: Roddy, Magnus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

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 **I'm doing shorts again! ^-^**

 **Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod. 154. "Don't you touch me!"**

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With a snarl the tri colored commander ripped his arm out of the larger's grip. It didn't really help his ability to do so with any kind of grace that Magnus' hand took up pretty much the entity of Hot Rod's arm, but that wasn't stopping him now. He was too angry.

"Let go!" He yelled.

His voice cracking on the force of the sound. His vocal processor confused as to what to do with the tone of his voice. For his processor was furious, but his spark was terrified. He hated both emotions for betraying him right now.

But he hated the tears prickling at his optics even worse.

Magnus let go, but it was so suddenly that it nearly put Roddy on his aft. The scrambled motion turning into a yelp that had the massive mech reaching out for him again with a pinched expression. However, he didn't catch him.

Roddy regained his balance with another snarl. "Don't you touch me!"

Magus flinched back even harder. "Roddy-"

"NO!" The younger snapped, still scrambling backward until his back hit the wall. "No! You don't get to do this! It's not _fair_!"

Huge shoulder slumping, Magnus stood there in the middle of the berthroom looking more like a kicked dog then Hot Rod have ever seen, but he couldn't care.

No.

No, he would not allow himself to care. Because if he cared then this was all going to be pointless. And it couldn't be pointless. It just couldn't.

"Roddy," Magnus whispered. "Please, just . . . slow down for a klick."

"NO!" He screamed, pressing himself further into the surface of the wall. "No! No, not until you tell me what the pit you meant!"

Magnus' deep blue optics, swimming with emotions that Roddy was afraid to define, stared at him.

"I meant what I said, Roddy." The towering mech told him in a voice that sounded far too small for his frame. "I meant every word. I'm not lying to you."

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 **Roddy and Magnus. I adore them.**

 **-Jaycee**


	10. Swear: Hide, Ratchet, Optimus, Jazz

**Disclaimer** **: You already know.**

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 **Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Jazz, Prowl, Smokescreen, Outrider, Wardrums, Dustoff, and I threw in Hammerdown 59. "I swear, I'll kick his aft."**

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Heavy arms crossed over his thick chest Ironhide leaned against the wall with Ratchet on one side, and Optimus on the other. Jazz and Prowl were on Optimus' other side, and every single one of them had their optics glued across the room to the pair of massive mechs arguing with each other.

To say that they were annoyed would be something of a major understatement. However, they weren't in much of a place to be saying anything. Not now.

"I swear," Ironhide grumbled under his breath. "If he tries anything I'll kick his aft."

Optimus hummed a note of agreement, Prowl's doorwings stayed hiked high behind him, the knife Jazz was playing with sung as he twirled it in a circle, and Ratchet nodded.

"Come on, Hide." Outrider's voice drifted in above him making Hide glance up just in time to find the big mech sliding down the steep wall to land with a thud beside him. The noise drew War's and Dust's attention but just as quickly as it was pulled they were back to arguing with each other.

They did that a lot.

Hammerdown and Smokescreen slide down behind the red scout the others making room for them as Rider leaned up against his elder brother's side.

"We all know that's not a fight you can win."

Hide cycled his cannons. "I might surprise ya, Rider."

"No you won't." Rider shook his head slowly. Optics filled with a tired light that only came around with the topic was War and Dust. "And you know it. None of any of us stand a chance against War."

"And you know its true." Smokescreen plopped his aft down on the ground just before his brother's feet. Doorwings brushing against Prowl's legs. The touch took some of the tension out of Prowl's own appendages. "So don't go doing anything stupid."

"They're not as bad as you make 'em out to be." Hammerdown shrugged. "War's an aft, but Dust is harmless."

"There is nothing _harmless_ about that mech." Ratchet huffed.

Smokescreen smirked up at the yellow and red medic. "You're just pissed off because how much more he knows then you."

Ratchet glared at him as Rider and Hammer snickered.

"Oh don't be like that, Ratch." Smokey grinned. "He's older then our damn sun. He's been a medic for longer then this solar system has been here."

"That doesn't give him the merit behind this scheme. He even admitted he's not sure he knows how this is going to work."

"We trust him." Hammer shrugged. "And it's us that is going to be doing it. Relax mechs, it will be okay."

Jazz growled. "We're allowed not to like it."

"Not liking it won't change that we're gonna do it." Outrider sighed. "Ya just gonna trust us that we know what we're doing."

"Mechs," Wardrums' voice suddenly boomed across the cavern with the force of pounding thunder. Snapping the scouts to attention. Optics lifting to find those fire colored optics.

"Time to go to work." Dustoff finished.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	11. Love: Magnus, Roddy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod. 80. "Stop avoiding me." 147. "Because I love you."**

* * *

"So how long are you going to keep it up?"

The deep baritone rolled right down Roddy's back strut. Making him stiffen despite himself. The try at normalcy apparently not working as well as he thought it should have.

But then, few of his plans did.

Still, he manged to not completely jump out of his armor when the towering commander walked into the navigation room behind him. The huge holo projector set up in the middle of the room glowing with the vertical projection of the South Vector System. Hot Rod had even more random maps, charts, and notes scattered out all around him as he tired to figure out the best coarse.

He wasn't Prowl and he wasn't Elita, but he did know a thing or two about the stars. Despite popular belief he _had_ actually paid attention in school. No matter how much his instructors and his grades told Optimus other wise. However, it was kind of hard to pass anything when your glitch of a sire is trying to secretly flunk you at every turn without your older brother finding out about it.

Optimus did eventually find out about it though. Via Elita.

Primus, Roddy still shuddered with the memory of that orn. He'd seen that femme pissed a few times. He was one of the rare that could say that, but to this orn he'd never seen anything like how she'd been that orn she came stalking into Sentinel's throne room and punched the mech square in the jaw.

If she was anybot other then the one Optimus was courting she'd have probably been killed. Then again, if she was somebot other then the one Optimus was courting she probably wouldn't have gotten that mad that Sentinel was trying to sabotage his bastard son.

Then again, punching him was tad more in her middle sister's bracket, but all figured out within a very short time of knowing Elita that pissing her off was a horrible idea.

Roddy had had no idea she'd react the way she did when he told her what was going on at school. He hadn't had any idea that Magnus and Optimus would either.

But that was a long, long time ago and why that was what came to mind as he twisted around and looked up at the massive mech slowly walking in behind him he didn't know. Maybe it was something about going back to this chart of stars he'd been trying to figure out since that first vorn at the Academy so long ago. Or maybe because annoyance was not an expression Magnus wore often.

"Keep what up?" Roddy asked, though they both already knew the answer. It was what he'd been doing for decacycles now. Spark and processor at war with each other. Uncertainty was never a look Roddy wore well, but lately it was all he could manage to come up with.

It was starting to annoy him as well but . . . this was . . . difficult. He was happy-oh Primus he was happy-don't get him wrong, but he was afraid. And just like everything else that Roddy didn't know how to handle he avoided it.

"Stop it, Hot Rod." Ultra Magnus' voice turned stern. His real name only making Roddy stiffen a little bit more. He never wanted to be on those terms with Magnus. He didn't like the way it sounded. Especially now. "Stop avoiding me."

"Avoiding you?" Roddy parroted. Optics falling to the side as he tired to deny it. "I'm not-"

Magnus' expression darkened as he finally closed the last of the distance between them until there were hardly an inch apart. That massive white hand reaching up to carefully tilt Roddy's chin until he was forced to look up the height difference between them to hold those blue optics.

"Don't do this, Roddy."

Swallowing hard, melting more then he wanted too, but unable to stop himself Roddy let out a long breath that he leaned forward with. Only stopping when he was tucked into Magnus' front.

Long, powerful arms wrapping around him and holding him tight. He was too short for the larger mech to rest his chin on his head, but the petting of his spoiler and his crest was more then enough for Roddy.

With a tired smile he whispered. "I'm sorry."

Magnus hummed a note. "Don't apologize. Just stop it. You have to talk to me. You use to talk to me. Your ability and my want for you to has not changed. You know that."

"Yeah." Roddy nodded against the panels of Magnus' lower chest. "I know. I don't know why you put up with me, but I know."

"Because I love you." Magnus told him firmly.

And yeah, Roddy was never going to get tired of hearing that.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	12. Brother: Optimus, Elita, Magnus

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, Elita. 165. [Make your own] "Magnus, he is my little brother!"**

 ***evil grin* Call it a spoiler.**

* * *

The slamming of the door was rivaled only by the snarl of the Prime's engine. Ultra Magnus was one of the few mechs that had the luxury of saying he had only rarely before found the leader of the free race scary.

He supposed it had something to do with knowing the mech since they were both still looking up at bots' knees. He'd known the mech that was his best friend so long, lived through so much, and done so many things with him it was impossible to be afraid of him.

At least, he had thought that until now.

It took every ounce of Magnus' self control to not back away from Optimus as he stalked across the room.

He was also quite sure he was about to be punched, and while he knew that was going to hurt very badly he found he didn't have much ground to stand on now. And he did probably deserve it on some level. So he stiffened his back and waited for the coming fist.

He would take what Optimus needed to give. For he was not apologizing, and he was not taking it back. Not now. No matter if the Prime liked it or not. If Roddy wanted him there was no way in pit he was turning him away. Not even for his oldest friend.

The hit didn't come, though it was no sure thing. It was only stopped two strides away from Magnus' tight form by Elita flinging herself forward to plant her feet firm in the tiny space between them. Arms lifted and hands splayed on Optimus' defined abdomen.

"Stop." She hissed. Rich voice pitched into a tone that made Magnus' spark shiver. Optimus stopped at it too, but only just. Dark expression flickering down to his mate. He didn't speak. His snarling engine did that enough for him.

She just growled back at him.

"You will _stop_ this! _Right_ now!"

"He-"

"I know!" She snapped. "But your not thinking! Not about Magnus! You're thinking about-"

"Don't you _dare_ say that mech's name!" He actually hadn't meant to snarl it. Really he hadn't. It just slipped out before Magnus had a chance to stop it. It boiled up from that place inside him, inside _all_ of them-at least their command staff that had once been something different-would never be able to forget, but didn't want to remember.

Oh how Magnus didn't want to remember.

Optimus bit at the tone toward his mate though, for Elita had flinched around in shock at it.

" _You_ keep your fraggin' mouth _shut_!"

Magnus couldn't help but growl back at him. Energon boiling with the surging memories. "If you even so much as _think_ I could ever do to Roddy what that bastard did, I swear Optimus I'll-"

The tension in the room clashed together like thunder clouds. The two mechs' fields warring against each other like they never had until Elita yelled between them.

"Stop it! Look at the two of you!"

Both the towering mechs' flickering their gazes down to her. Frames heaving with the tension inside them. Only to glance up again at each other before looking away.

"This is not you." She pressed, breathing hard. "This is not either of you. You both need to calm down and think."

"It's just-" Optimus cut off with a hard shake of his head. Spark twisting in its chamber. "Magnus, he's my little brother!"

"You don't think I know that?" Magnus sighed. "You don't think I've been pushing this down, pushing it away, denying it for as long as I have because of who he is and what we are? You don't think I've thought about this? You don't think I'm as scared as you are and as scared as he is? I _am,_ Optimus. But Roddy is grown. He can make his own choices and . . . I love him. I'm not denying it anymore. I'm not going to do that to him. I'm _not_ going to hurt him."

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	13. Illegal: Sides, Sunny, Bee, Rider

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs**

* * *

 **Smokescreen, Outrider, Hammerdown, Jolt, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. 49."I thought you said you had it _handled_! _This_ is not handled!" 111. "And I'm a trained assassin!" 75. "Is there a reason for that, or are we just going to pretend it isn't there?" 110. "Well it's not _technically_ illegal." 133. "Is it . . . _suppose_ to do that?"**

 **This is a ways in the future. They're already on earth.**

* * *

Bumblebee could tell you the exact moment it all started. Down to the nano. Really, he could. Which was saying something considering most of the time Bee didn't have a clue in the world how he needed up in the places he got himself into.

This time though. This time he knew.

It all started when Sideswipe opened his big mouth.

"Well it's not _technically_ illegal."

That had been it. That simple little statement right there. Now really, in all honesty, Bee _probably_ should have known right then that this was all going to end badly. But in his defense. He hadn't been the one that agreed first.

Nope.

That had been Smokey, Hammer, and Rider. They were ones that grinned like fools and nodded along. The twins were pretty damn persuasive, but when you paired them up with Smokey, Hammer, and Rider. Well, no one should be surprised when everything normally ends up on fire.

It's bound to happen.

Bee was actually pretty sure it might be a universal law of some type. It had to be written in the cosmos somewhere that the five of them together was never going to be anything but trouble. It was just the way things were.

How _he_ always ended up in the middle of it wasn't surprising either. He'd follow after the twins and the scouts where ever and for whatever. Even if that drove Ratchet, Hide, and Optimus crazy.

But really, who could blame him? They were fun.

It was Jolt being here that surprised him.

One, because Jolt really wasn't a 'do things that will get us in trouble' kind of mech. No, usually he didn't have much use for the schemes they all came up with. But it would seem that even Jolt could fall victim to the boredom that was lock down days on the NEST base.

Seriously though, there was only so much a sitting around in alt mode watching humans talk over you-especially humans like Galloway-a mech could take! It had been five freaking Earth days. Which, okay, granted wasn't even an orn. But _come on!_

They'd all kind of gotten use to Earth time now. They had adjusted! And now they were sitting around, stuck in a damn garage for _almost a whole orn_ because some little glitch with issues wanted 'proper paperwork'.

Hide had said it right. "Proper paperwork my aft, the squishy is just fraggin' annoying."

And he was.

 _Oh_ so annoying.

To _all_ of them. Seriously. Even Prime couldn't stand him. And that was saying something.

So, somehow that was all what lead up to the current predicament Bee found himself in. With eighty-four pounds of _technically not_ illegal fireworks stashed in his subspace while fifty something cops with wailing sirens screamed after him down the middle of a bridge topping the range of 250 mph. Sure, he wasn't even in second gear yet, but by humans standards and the traffic laws that Lennox had literally smacked him in the head with repeatedly this was kind of a bad thing.

Not that that was bothering Sides, Sunny, Rider, Smokey, and Hammer who were roaring along beside him. Radios blaring Fall Out Boy laughing their afts off.

Jolt was tucked tightly in the back of speeding sports cars and pick up trucks. His annoyance rolling off of him in waves. Bee couldn't say he blamed him though. The lime green silly string sprayed all over his bright blue paint had to be itchy. Though Bee still wasn't sure _how_ that can of silly string exploded, or if it really was an accident. Considering how hard Hammer had laughed, it probably wasn't. But Jolt hadn't ditch them yet so that had to be something. That didn't stop him from shouting at the top of his vocal processor over the roar of the wind, the radios, and the sires though.

When Jolt wanted to, mech really could yell. Bumblebee figured that had something to do with being trained by Ratchet.

"I thought you said you had it _handled_! _This_ is not handled!" He screamed at Sideswipe's back bumper, but the red mech just drifted another corner laughing all the way.

"Oh _relax_ mech!" Sunstreaker shouted back to him. "They're just _squishys_ we can loose them!"

"Loosing them ain't gonna mean a damn thing when they call NEST!"

"What's the matter, Jolt!?" Hammer teased over the pounding bass in his speakers. "Scared of Galloway?"

"No!" The medic hissed. "I'm scared of _Ratchet!"_

And, well, mech did have a point there.

"Oh chill out." Rider snickered. "Everything is fine. They can't catch us and even if they did, we're awesome."

"And I'm a trained assassin!" Smokescreen hollowed of so helpfully.

"You _can't_ _kill_ humans, Smokey!" Bumblebee shouted the reminder for what had to be approaching the imaginary number mark. They sped down another bridge, cut across a intersection, blasted around a small town, and kept hauling aft toward the plane waiting for them.

That is, if they're ride was still waiting for them and NEST hadn't been alerted yet and the plane called back yet. Bee hoped not. He really _didn't_ want to swim back to base.

The rounded another bend when suddenly the familiar sounds of helicopters filled Bee's audios. Only those weren't normal new helicopters that tended to try and follow them around. No, those were military, and they were wearing NEST marks.

Oh grand.

"Hey, uh, Sides!" Bee called over the music, the wind, their engines, and the road.

Sides didn't respond. Them all hopping and hollering as they sped on.

"Sides!" Bee called again as the cops trailed off and the coptors fell in behind them. " Is there a reason for that, or are we just going to pretend it isn't there?"

"The reason is we're in trouble, Bee." Jolt sighed rather dramatically even over all the noise. "But, well we all knew that was going to happen."

"They ain't _caught_ us _yet!"_ Outrider shouted out.

That was when the helicopters started humming out pulses.

"Umm, mech." Bee called. "Is it . . . _suppose_ to do that?"

They probably should have seen the EMP burst coming. Just as they should have seen the ride back to NEST coming, and the lecture from Prime coming, and the screaming rant from Galloway, and the 'grounding' for a month.

Because they did sort of have that all coming, but through it all the little matter of silly string, fireworks, paint, and balloons stashed away in their different subspaces went forgotten and that . . . that was a party that could wait.

If the grin on Sideswipe's faceplate was anything to go by anyway.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	14. Love: Arcee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Arcee, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. 147. "Because I love you."**

* * *

On a level deep inside the two of them, the truth was, they still didn't fully comprehend it. No matter how many vorns it had been or how much had changed they still didn't think it was right.

It was a piece of them that would probably always feel that way. No matter how far they had come there was still that dark piece inside that had learned what life was far too young. The part of them that was still those shivering younglings locked up in the depths of the Rings.

That learned that it was kill or die, and that anything besides each other could _never_ be counted on. Only they were fully truthful.

Everything else was never for sure.

Not even all these vorns with the Autobots could fully take that away. There were still that haunting hesitance. There always would be.

And yet, they found themselves where they were sitting now. Under the dim lights of an empty medical bay counting out stock with Arcee like they didn't have anything else to do.

But they weren't there because they had to be, they were there because they _wanted_ to be. To the darker side that itself was a very odd thing.

Sideswipe wasn't completely sure why he said it. He just knew that he did.

"Thanks 'Cee."

The soft pink femme glanced up from the pile of wires she was sorting. Pale optics distracted with her thoughts for a moment before she processed what the red twin said to her.

"For what?" She asked in response.

Sides paused for a klick when he realized he spoke. A glance shared with his golden other half that sat next to him. Their dark optics meeting before Sunstreaker answered.

"Doing what you do."

"All of what you do."

"You and Ratchet both."

"I guess we don't know why you both bother with us some of the time."

"But we wanted to say thank, anyway, that you do."

She watched them. Pale blue optics shining brightly as she stared back at them as she finally smiled.

"Because I love you, silly mechlings." She smiled. "Ratchet and I both do. Like it or not. You're stuck with us now. You've got creators whether you like it or not."

They smiled back at her in response. Because believe it or not, they were okay with that.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	15. Idiot: Elita, Optimus, Chromia, Arcee

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Optimus and Elita. 74. "I may be an idiot, but I'm _your_ idiot."**

 **This one is well before the war. When Optimus was still courting Elita. I also added in Arcee and Chromia because I could. So have pretty much youngling, Arcee being adorable.**

* * *

He looked like a fool standing there on her doorstep in the middle of a down pour. His towering height making him have to stoop his shoulders to even get under the over hanging of the entrance. Making the stinging acid pelting down outside splash off the little door covering onto him. Adding to the already intense rain.

She wouldn't have thought it possible for such a majestic mech to look quite as pathetic as Optimus did right now. Hunched over there before her doorway with a ruined bushel of crystals dropping in his hands, a drenched box of rust sticks, and an expression that belonged more to a turbo hound kicked out in the weather for bad behavior then a mech.

But considering that the mighty heir to the thrown might as well be nothing more then a turbo hound kicked out of its warm berth for bad behavior Elita couldn't say she didn't see it fitting.

That was why she had no plans what so ever of opening the door.

He'd gotten the hint about a joor ago and the knocking had stopped, but it seemed he would not leave. Staying hunched there at their apartment door trying to stay out of as much rain as he could.

Elita told herself she didn't care. That she was perfectly fine with ignoring the glitch as he got what he deserved.

Served him right.

She wasn't the least bit sorry about it and she was most certainly _not_ taking it out on their innocent glass wear. Not one bit. No matter how amusing Chromia seemed to find it from her position just a step away down the counter from her drying off the cubes that she had manged to take away from Elita's angry scrubbing.

The smirk pulling at the corner of her lips was very, _very_ annoying.

Arcee-bless her sweet spark-had abandon her textbooks on the kitchen table, homework all but forgotten, in favor of sitting on the window bench in the living room. Hidden behind the edge of the shades she peaked outside into the dim downpour. Watching the pathetic excuse of a mech standing on their porch.

Slamming the cube she was washing back down into the sink full of cleaner Elita twisted around to glare at her sister's small back. Though it was no easy feat to keep going for any length of time. Arcee was too adorable for her own good. Especially when she kept looking back at her eldest sister with this ridiculously pleading expression.

"Cee," Elita finally snapped, ignoring Mia's gaze flicking behind him. "Get away from the window and finish your homework."

"But 'Lita." Arcee glanced back again. That same imploring expression in her optics.

"But 'Lita nothing."

"He's still there." Arcee pleaded.

"That is by his own choices. No bot is forcing him to stay there. Now come finish your work, please."

The youngest sister stayed curled there on the window bench for a klick or two longer with that sad expression before she realized Elita wasn't budging. So with a dejected sigh she pulled herself up and slowly padded back to the table. Slipping into her chair and pulling her work back in front of her. Though she didn't even bother with pretending to be doing any of it.

Instead her optics were glancing between Elita as she went back scrubbing the innocent dishes and Chromia who simply shrugged at her younger sister's silent plea and went back to stacking. Silence stretched on between the three of them. Broken only by the frustrated sloshing of cleanser and the rapid squeaking of the cleaning cloth against the glass cubes.

Chromia finished the the stacking she had, knowing that the few left in the sink were not going to be released from their unjust punishment anytime soon. So she twisted around to lean backward against the table. Arms crossed easily over her chest, dark optics on her elder sister.

Besides bunch her shoulders a little tighter Elita manged to ignore the both of them. Focusing instead on cleaning the cubes. Pretending not to think about the mech standing on their porch no doubt getting burned by the stinging rain by now.

It was his own fault.

Like she told Arcee. No bot was forcing him to stay there. He could take his stupid aft home any time he felt like it. If he got hurt it was by his own foolish actions. She had made herself perfectly clear. If he couldn't get the hint then he was even more of a glitch then she previous thought.

Arcee was leaning against the table now. Elbows propped against the hard surface, palms hold her chin, not even bothering to pretend to be working. She was staring back at the front door and the mech standing out in the rain on the other side of it. Every klick or two she'd looked back at Elita's back but other then the tightness in her frame and the lack of easy field let out there was no reaction.

Cee's pale gaze would travel over to Mia then. Silently begging her older sister to make the eldest stop acting like a glitch. Mia would do no more then shrug at her though. She knew there was no talking Elita down from this stew. They both shared a little too many traits in that department for Chromia to think it was a good idea.

Where in Primus' name Arcee got her forgiving nature Mia would never guess, but it was not something the older sisters shared with her. Mia wore it a lot more openly then Elita did, but it was there all the same. The eldest sister could stew like no other bot Mia had the pleasure of knowing.

And while she didn't yet know the whole story of what had lead to this fit of anger and unwillingness to speak to the mech courting her Mia couldn't say she blamed her even if she didn't know. Whatever it was Optimus probably deserved it.

It took a lot to make Elita angry-far more then it did Mia-but it was never a pointless issue. So the mech would just have to stand there in the rain behind their door or go home and try again tomorrow.

That in no way was something Arcee planned to let happen though. Chromia knew that for sure, Elita should know it too.

Slipping out of her chair the young femme-old enough to be considered grown, but not by the sisters that had raised her-walked softly to Elita's side. Leaning in against her sister's hip.

Elita paused in her angry washing. Not pulling away, but huffing all the same as she lowered the cube in her hands back to the cleaner while she turned to look down at her shorter sister.

Those pale blue orbs shown like little fallen stars back at her and despite how much she wanted to hold onto it she could keep the anger in her frame when she looked at that sad faceplate.

"Are you really _that_ mad at him?" Arcee asked quietly, her younger age shining through in that moment.

"Cee," Elita sighed.

"Are you? Are you going to make him stay away?"

"No, Cee." Elita placed everything back in the sink, drying her hands and turning to her sister fully. "I'm just . . . frustrated."

"What did he do?" Chromia asked, pushing off from where she was leaning to come stand in the little huddle with them.

Sighing Elita shook her head. "We were arguing about his sire again."

At that Mia huffed, optics narrowing. "Ah, _that_ again."

Elita let out a long breath as Arcee muttered. "Can you really get mad at him for defending his sire, 'Lita? He's obviously sorry he upset you. Won't you just talk to him?"

For a klick Elita stared down into her sister's lighter optics before with a huff, a throw of her hands, and a roll of her optics she grumbled. "All right, all right, _fine_."

And with that she marched across the living room leaving a grinning Arcee and a watchful Chromia standing just around the bend of the kitchen. The tall, dawn colored eldest sister reached the door in hardly four strides across their tiny apartment, yanking the door open to revel the down turned hunch of the crowned prince who snapped to attention when the door opened.

Optics narrow Elita huffed of him. "Get in here you idiotic glitch."

Optimus only hesitated for a spark beat before he hurried in. Stepping sopping wet into the living room as she slammed the door shut behind her. Turning to face him with her arms cross over her chest and her optics narrow she glared hard up to his dripping, still bent frame.

"What do you so obviously feel you _must_ say before you can leave?"

Optimus had picked up a little when the door opened, but at the look on Elita's faceplate and the tone of her voice, his shoulders dipped a little again and his gaze lowered to the floor. He was dripping acid all over their floor and he probably looked like a gutter rat. He felt down right pathetic-no doubt his sire would string him up by his toes if he saw or heard of this-but Optimus didn't care.

He couldn't let her stay mad at him. He couldn't leave it for her to stew over. He knew he had screwed up, he knew he was wrong, he just desperately needed to fix this. Because he _couldn't_ lose her. Not over something as stupid as this.

In a rush that all jumped to his tongue, but all that came out was a quiet. "I'm sorry."

And for some reason that seemed to be enough that some of the tension left her frame. She didn't uncross her arms, but her optics softened.

Optimus took that as enough grounds to make the leap.

"I'm not gonna say I was wrong, I'm not going to say you were, but I don't want to fight with you. I never want to fight with you. As soon as you left I was kicking myself. It was stupid, and I will not let this fall apart because of my sire. I will not. And I'm sorry I was stupid enough to argue with you about something we both know is not worth it."

She kept listening so he went on.

"I brought you these." He muttered, lifting the ruined peace offering. "I ran to the store as soon as I stopped punching my wall and it was only after I was halfway here did I realize this was probably the stupidest, superficial peace offering I could have ever come up with, and now their ruined, but . . . well I . . . ."

He trailed off when her expression didn't change anymore. Thinking that even with this he wasn't going to get her to forgive him, and his optics fell to the floor at the thought. Spark heavy in its chamber.

"You're an idiot." She said flatly, snapping his gaze back up to her. Her arms were uncrossing. Head shaking slightly, optics softening as she stepped forward to take the ruined gifts from him. Shifting them to one hand as she stepped up to the front of him. Lifting a hand to cup his cheek.

Those blue optics of his brightened like they hadn't all orn as he leaned into the touch. The towering mech bent almost all around her in the motion, but he was grinning down at her now all the same.

He smiled. "I may be an idiot, but I'm _your_ idiot. Right?"

"Who else is going to put up with you?" She teased, pressing up on her toes to kiss him lightly on the lips.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	16. Stop: Prowl, Jazz

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Only the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Jazz, Prowl. 12. "Please stop."**

* * *

Jazz sat, back to the door. Hunched over in the corner of his berth. Hiding in more ways then one. Optics dull, armor tight as he stared blankly at the wall.

Prowl shouldn't have been surprised to find him like this. In someways he wasn't, but a part of him had been hoping that Jazz wouldn't go this low. Even if he should have known better.

After all here he was. Slipping through the door that Jazz had rigged locked. It hadn't been easy, but eventually he outsmarted the changing code lock. Forcing his way into Jazz's hiding. No matter if he was wanted or not.

There were times that the wants of a friend must be ignored in favor of their needs. Right now, Jazz _needed_ something to hold on to. Even if he didn't want one. If not he'd slide down that slipping slope. The other side of that sharp edged blade that the tribal mech walked every orn.

Making his way across the dark room Prowl reached Jazz's berth. Picking himself up and settling on the very edge. Watching as the berth sagged and Jazz's hackles rose with it.

Still he made no sound though. Not even the normal hum of systems and vents. The silver mech was hiding even his breaths.

The sight and sound of it made Prowl's spark constrict in its chamber. Hurting on a level that it had found over the vorns that it could only do for Jazz. No matter if neither he or it fully understood why.

He didn't question it now. Instead, shifted his weight fully onto the berth. Scooting until he was situated with his doorwings pressed flat against the wall behind him. Legs sprawled out before him and arms rather useless against his side.

They stayed like that for a long time. Jazz hunched and hiding to the best of his ability while Prowl watched unable to do anything for him. It was only when his spark grew tight enough that he felt like he couldn't breath either that the Praxian finally whispered.

"Please stop."

Jazz flinched, but did nothing more.

Making Prowl gulp hard.

"Please, Jazz," He pressed. "Don't do this again. Please. Stop."

He took a deep breath watching a nano or two longer before he whispered.

"Please, come back."

Then, slowly, and with slightly shaky movements the silver mech uncurled and crawled over into the two tones open arms.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	17. The Hounds Plus Havoc

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Echo, Scout and Havoc huh? I can do that.**

 **This one is a spoiler.**

* * *

Black optics narrowed into thin slits the dark black hound stalked in circles. Lips pealed back over his long, jagged, silver fangs. Audios pinned back against his head. Long, jagged tail lashing back and forth.

Echo stood just a pace behind Scout. Audios pinned and optics narrow as well, but she wasn't doing near the growling her brother was. Echo was more confused then angry. Maybe she simply trusted Bee's judgement a bit more then Scout did or maybe it was the sheer shock of this huge, pale white, and red optics hound.

Havoc was _big_.

Bigger even then Scout. A massive bulk of strong white shoulders, sharp plating, and jagged fangs. He looked down at Scout by at least three feet. Optics narrow as she watched the smaller mech hound snarl.

His audios were pinned back, his lips curled just a bit to show the long fangs hidden behind. His tail held high and tense behind him. Challenging and watchful.

He didn't seem _angry,_ just defensive. Not at all liking the greeting Scout was offering. He didn't jump into the fight that Scout wanted though. Instead just watching as the smaller mech hound paced. Keeping himself between Havoc and his sister as well as his home.

The white static-hound couldn't say he blamed him. He was the protector here. This was his pack and his family, but not just his anymore.

Havoc had no plans on leaving. Not any of it.

And if he had to fight for his right to stay here he most certainly would

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	18. Say Something: Optimus, Magnus

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Optimus, Ultra Magnus. 29. "Say something!"**

* * *

"Say something!" Optimus shouted, arms thrown up and engine snarling.

Glaring across the room at his best friend. Magnus didn't seem shaken by it. His own shoulders tense and his optics narrow. Glaring right back at Optimus as he bit out.

"And _what_ do you want me to say, Prime?"

The sting of the title didn't go unnoticed. Magnus only ever said it when he was done. Frustrated and angry beyond the point of wanting nothing else to do with his best friend.

And at this point he was.

He was so damn _tired_ of this conversation. They'd been yelling at each other for what felt like orns and they weren't getting anywhere. Because Optimus didn't want to listen. He was too fumbled up in his own emotions.

Magnus couldn't blame him. It was why he had tried so hard at first not to fight with him. Because he _understood_. He did, but he also had his own ground to stand on in this argument and Primus damn it all he was not backing down.

"Tell me what the frag-"

"I'm thinking?" Magnus cut in. "Well I can't. There isn't a whole lot of _thought_ that goes into this slag, Optimus. You should know. Don't you remember when you fell for Elita."

Optics gaze hardened. "Don't go there."

"I'll go where ever I like." Magnus bit back. "I'm not some soft armored youngling that you can scare off with a snarl and a glare. I'm not going to back down with this Optimus. You _can't_ make me. You shouldn't be trying."

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	19. Say: Scout, Echo

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Scout and Echo. 25. "Well he didn't actually _say_ we couldn't."**

* * *

Pouting in the dark of their shared room with Bumblebee the two dark hounds sat at the end of his berth with a shared glare.

They had once again been left behind with an order to say out of trouble. Bee was once again off to do some crazy thing and couldn't bring them with him. Not because he didn't want to, but mostly because he didn't want them to get hurt.

Which made absolutely no sense what so ever to the hounds. They were meant to protect their pack together. They weren't suppose to be left behind in times of trouble.

That was not how packs worked.

Bee didn't agree with this idea though. Which was why they were left piled on the berth and he was out doing who knew what.

It was a rather annoying problem for the pair of them.

Heads rested against their paws hanging just slightly over the edge of the berth they both stared hard at the door through slightly narrowed black optics. Audios pushed forward and bonds open, waiting for the slightest clue of where their alpha was.

Sitting there quietly waiting for a long time until Scout grumbled.

" _This stupid."_ He growled.

Echo had to say she agreed with him. " _Wanna go with him. Should go with him. Suppose to go with him."_

" _Yeah."_

" _You know."_ Echo suddenly lifted her head. Audios twitching as a slow smirk worked up her muzzle. " _Didn't actually_ say _couldn't go."_

Scout's head shot up as well. Turning to stare at his sister before his own grin came to life. " _This right."_

With a bound they headed for the door.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	20. What is it: Bee, Hide, Mia, Rider

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Only the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Bumblebee, Ironhide, Chromia, Smokescreen, Hammerdown, Outrider.**

 **20\. "Under what circumstances was _that_ a good idea?" 31. "Will you _stop_ coming in through the window!? Please?" 75. "Is there a reason for that, or are we just going to pretend it isn't there?"**

* * *

Chromia resisted the urge to slap her palm to her forehead. Ironhide however, had no problem what so ever with it. The resulting clang echoing around the suddenly quiet room of bright optics staring back at them.

With a nervous chuckle Bee grinned up at his creators.

None of them said a word. Hammer and Rider laying in a pile on the floor with Bumblebee sitting next to them and Smokescreen somewhat hiding the massive hunk of space rock behind him. Only it was not working. Not in the slightest.

They all seemed fine with pretending it was though. Which was why it seemed they were just all going to sit and stand around staring at each other until Mia finally crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.

"Is there a reason for that, or are we just going to pretend it isn't there?" She asked, tilting her head toward the giant hunk of rock not so hidden behind them.

All four of them twisted to look at the glittering thing before turning back with a shared shrug.

"Pretending its not there works for me." Outrider grinned.

"Yep." Bee popped the 'p'.

Ironhide looked hard at them.

"Oh come on, Hide," Hammer laughed from the floor. "It's not hurting anything."

" _What_ is it?"

"Gri bait." Smokescreen shrugged.

Hide and Mia about choked on their own breath.

"Gri bait!?" She snapped.

"You brought Gri bait home!?"

"Bee wanted a souvenir." Rider shrugged like that was the most obvious answer in the world.

Bee grinned.

Ironhide snarled at them. "Under what circumstances was _that_ a good idea?"

"These." Hammer stated. "It's not hurting anything. We detoxed it before we got it aboard the ship. It's not hurting anything, and come on, he likes it."

All optics drifted over to Bee then who was smirking brightly. "Can I keep it?"

Hide and Mia glared at him.

He just grinned a little wider, batting those unfairly big baby blue optics. "Please?"

The creators' resolve lasted for all of six nanos before they both let out a breath of defeat and groaned.

"Oh fine."

Bumblebee went to bouncing around like a wire hare. "Yay! Thank you!"

Then shot across the room and scaled both of them in a tight hug. It was hard for either of them to stay annoyed when he did slag like that. Which was why they simply let out another sigh though this one was covering the fondness in their optics as neither made much move to stop him.

"Yeah, alright, alright." Ironhide patted at his head. "Calm down."

He was squeezed tighter.

"Just don't let Wheeljack see it." Chromia told him. "He'll want to test slag with it and we've lost enough ships. Oh, and mechs?"

The three scouts who had been doing a very good job of slipping out of the room while the creators were snuggling with their youngling froze like scrap-rats when the light flips one and slowly looked back at her.

"Yeah Mia?" Rider asked carefully.

"Will you _stop_ coming in through the window!? Please? We have a door for a _reason_."

The big red mech chuckled as he slipped out the door. "Whatever you say, Mia."

* * *

 **They're silly, and adorable, and I love them.**

 **-Jaycee**


	21. Sparkling: Bumblebee, Mercy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Bumblebee, Mercy. 165. (Make up your own) Sparkling Bee.**

 **Mercy and itty bitty Bee, huh? I can do that.**

* * *

It was quiet.

That in itself was a miracle, but not one Mercy took for more then face value.

The quiet held just as many monsters as anything else. If anything, it held worse ones. And there was no big, bad brother to hide behind now.

No.

For the first time in her life Mercy was completely alone.

A soft squeak pipped up from the bundle of mesh blanket she had tucked into the stone alcove just behind her. The pale yellow femme twisted with the sound. Bright, baby blue optics glittering through the gloom as she hurriedly made her way back through the shallow, narrow, dark, and damp darkness of this bolt hole cave among the endless red sand.

Carefully she stepped along the cold stone, reaching the squeaking little bundle with a soft chirp of her own. Peeling back the soft layer of fabric to be greeted by impossibly big optics that mirrored the color of her own.

A tiny ball of yellow protofrom. All stubby, wiggly limbs and innocent cooing.

A smile broke across her lips.

Okay, so maybe she wasn't _completely_ alone.

Purring quietly she plucked up the little blanket covered bundle. Pulling him tightly to her chest before leaning down to nuzzle at his soft middle. The motion and sound earned her a happy, giggly warble. A sound made of nothing more then sparkling nonsense, but it made her spark sore despite the tired, starving state of her frame.

"Hello, little one." She smiled.

More happy chirps and clicks. Tiny, stubby, chubby fingers grasping at the planes of her cheeks. Rubbing and tugging as Bumblebee tried to wiggle his way closer to her.

She pulled him all the closer. Settling down into the darkness corner of the cave, hidden behind a few pills of rocks, though she knew better then to ever fully take her attention away from what might be hunting them outside. She did give him her full gaze as she pressed light kisses all over his happily wiggling frame.

Relishing in the happy bubbles of chirping laughter and the oh so soft, tiny hands rubbing at her checks. His beautiful, happy spark pulsing so warm and bright between them.

The absolute brightest, sweetest, most wonderful thing she'd ever felt in this whole fragged up world. The thing she would defend to her dying breath.

The thing she would be damned before she let _him_ have.

For now though, his sire and the rest of this horrible world could wait outside the mouth of this cave. Because listening to her tiny sparkling chirp and purr and attempt to wrap his vocal processor around the world 'carrier' was far more important.

* * *

 **Sparkling Bee is too cute to be healthy.**

 **-Jaycee**


	22. Bad Idea: Jazz, Prowl, Roddy, Magnus

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Jazz, Prowl. 160."I, uh, sorta . . . broke it." 134. "Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, _bad_ idea!" 78. "Who would have thought a damn shower could be this dangerous." 20. "Under what circumstances was _that_ a good idea?"**

* * *

Prowl still wasn't sure if this was a work of brilliance or a work of madness, but considering it was Jazz that was behind it he supposed both were truth. Both happening at the same time in some twisted bend of reality that the silver mech seemed capable of making.

The towering expanse of mech beside him meant that at least this time he wasn't alone in figuring out Jazz's schemes this time. But considering it was Magnus because it was also Roddy that was currently hopping around outside the washrack stall from foot to foot trying to get the sticky goo like stuff off of him the black and white Praxian couldn't say it was all that much better of a predicament.

"Bad idea. Bad, bad, bad, bad, _bad_ idea!" Hot Rod whined as he bounced. "Jazz. Jazz. Jazz! Get it _off,_ Jazz! This stuff burns!"

"Oh stop being a sparkling." Jazz's voice drifted from inside the shower stall. "I'm busy."

"Jazz!" Roddy huffed, whipping at his arms to try and get all the green slag off of him. "This isn't okay anymore!"

Jazz snorted. "Roddy, I'm trying to fix it. It's not gonna kill ya."

Magnus let out a tired breath as Roddy's hopping and whining eventually lead to him slipping on the wet floor of the washracks and sent him crashing to his aft with a put out grumble.

"Who would have thought a damn shower could be this dangerous." The towering command said quietly.

"I don't think that is _just_ a shower." Prowl groaned.

"It's not!" Roddy sat up right, bright optics glaring over at them. "Now one of you get over here and help me get this slag off!"

Both mechs lifted an optic ridge at him.

A pout took up the commander's lips as he cast his optics just to Magnus. "Please."

With a roll of his optics Magus sighed, but went to him all the same.

Prowl took it upon himself then to call out. "Jazz,"

The name was followed by something clattering loudly to the ground before Jazz stuck his head out.

"Oh, hey, Prowler."

"What are you doing?"

"Nothing."

"Jazz." The SIC ground out.

"Okay, fine." The smaller huffed. "I was trying to modify the shower and I might have ended up accidentally . . . uh . . . . I . . . uh, sorta . . . broke it."

"And how did this slag end up all over Roddy." Magnus gripped.

"I thought adding gel to the pipes would help." Jazz shrugged.

"Under what circumstances was _that_ a good idea?" Magnus huffed.

Jazz shrugged.

Prowl's left optic twitched.

* * *

 **The things Prowl and Mags go through for these two.**

 **-Jaycee**


	23. Sarcasm: Jazz, Prowl

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Jazz, Prowl. 4. "Why do you do this every damn time?" 47. "Was that sarcasm? I think that was sarcasm."**

* * *

Bright blue optics narrow behind the curve of his visor Jazz huffed as he bent, picking scattered datapads and pens off the floor.

"Why do you do this every damn time?" He gripped, back to the black and white mech still trying to figure out how to get his desk off the two office chairs without breaking anything any more.

"As I recall, _you_ were the one that threw the datapad first." Prowl grumbled as he stood figuring down at the desk.

Jazz stuck his tongue out at the bigger mech's back. "You called me a brat! I'm _not_ a brat!"

"Says the mech sticking his tongue out at my back." Prowl glanced back with an optic raised.

Jazz froze at being caught but recovered well enough with a flare of his energy field and a snort. Looking away and going back to picking up all the clutter they'd ended up chunking at each other for the last breem.

Prowl rolled his own optics, turning away again, this time leaning forward and starting to pry the smaller chair out of the other.

"You're the one that threw the chair first." Jazz mumbled under his breath.

"I thought you'd have liked the challenge." Prowl snorted.

Jazz spun back with a low, dark, amused laugh. "Was that sarcasm? I think that was sarcasm."

Prowl twitched a doorwing. "I wouldn't know what you were talking about."

Jazz gave another optic roll and went back to picking up office supplies. They really did need to pick some new fall backs in their arguments. Or at least Prowl did. Because his fall back was usually all his datapads, pens, computers, and anything else in his office chunked toward, usually, Jazz's head.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	24. You're Not: Hide, Ratch, Jazz,Optimus

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Ironhide, Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Jazz, Trickster, Evermore, Impulse. 165. (Make up your own). "You're not taking him." 129. "You're not, you're really not." 62. "Bastard."**

* * *

The two massive black frames squared off there. Fields angry and wild each of their armor flaring and pinning in different areas along their frame. Dark blue pools narrowed against the lighter ice of the other.

The hot angry whines of Ironhide's cannons matched the low snarl through Trickster's chest. Size wise, Trickster was taller then Hide, but by bulk and sheer powerful mass Ironhide had him greatly outclassed.

When it came right down too it though, who would win this stand off wasn't even a game. For one simple little fact. One of the ebony mechs could die, and one couldn't.

At least not by any standards the Autobots could provide.

It was for that reason and that reason alone that Ratchet had Hide under both arms, plastered to him trying to somehow get the much larger bulk of the other to stop attempting to get himself killed.

Jazz was shoving his way between the two snarling mechs. Pushing at Ironhide as well. Mindful of those glowing, spitting plasma barrels Ratchet was trying to wrangle.

"Hide, for the love of pit, _stop it_!" Ratchet yelled, finally managing to get a foot hold and hauling the larger mech back with Jazz's shoving help. Just because they were winning the shoving match didn't mean they could shut up Hide's yelling just yet though.

"You fraggin' glitch!" Ironhide bellowed. "You're not taking him! You understand me!? You can't fraggin' have him!"

"That's not your choice to make!" Trickster spit back at him. Only refraining from raking his claws down the tribal mech's faceplate because of Evermore's light hold on his arm.

She wasn't having to do anything like what Jazz and Ratchet were to keep her Guild sibling still, but then again, she had much more power over her brother then they did of theirs.

Impulse stood rumbling dangerously just behind them. His larger frame shadowing them both as he glared and hissed didn't make too much of a pretty picture of her keeping them back, but he didn't move even under at the threatening glow of the Prime's battleaxe pointed at the three of them.

The Chief Medic and the Spy Master might be able to stop the walking arsenal, but their Prime they had no will or means to stop. No, the towering anger of Optimus Prime was not something they were foolish enough to get in the way of.

However, he unlike his old friend was far more okay with standing his ground in his anger and not trying to take off their heads.

With a low hiss of his own he fixed all three of them in that high bred blue gaze. "You're not taking him. You're not, you're really not."

"You have no more control of that then we do." Evermore told him softly.

"And you have no more means to stop us then you do the tides." Impulse snarled in.

"Bastard." Jazz spit, over his shoulder. "You just try and touch him, we'll see just how indestructible you are!"

Ratchet's low rumble as he grappled with Ironhide said just how much he agreed.

But the unamused and undeterred glow in the Guild's optics said for them just how much they didn't care. They had a job to do, and they would do it.

There was more at stake here then just the Autobots' little family. They were fools if they thought any of it was that simple.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	25. Lose You: Ratchet, Sides, Sunny

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

* * *

 **Ratchet, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker. 96. "Are you leaking!?" 139. "Okay, it wasn't the best idea I've ever had." 150. "Because I can't lose you!"**

 **Oh this was a good one. ^-^ I'm glad you picked this. This is also a rather large backtrack in the timeline. It's early in the war when the twins hadn't been Autobots long.**

* * *

Massive, death welding, destructive, angry, vengeful, ex-gladiators the twins may be but all Ratchet would ever see in them is a pair of mechlings too foolish to look after themselves.

Just like now.

When that great big red idiot decided that taking a hit for the medic would be an intelligent idea.

Ratchet hadn't been paying attention. At least, not as much as he should have. Bent double in the mud trying to stop the latest pour spark from leaking out under his hands he hadn't seen the inbound seeker coming.

Over the chaos of the battlefield not even the roar of flight engines stood out all that much. Not when every ounce of Ratchet's focus was on trying to save a life.

Rule number one of battle field medical care: You aren't much help to the wounded if you get yourself killed.

Which meant, paying attention to more then just the task at hand was suppose to be the medic's top priority, but Ratchet . . . well, he'd never much liked that rule. Which was why he so often chose to ignore it.

Like now.

Only before, it was usually Ironhide or Optimus that would slide in at the last possible nano and take the force of the hit that would have killed him. Their larger, heavier, thicker frames and armor meaning they could take almost all of it and keep on going. Ratchet was built to take a hit-medics had to be, they had to be strong-but his armor wasn't anywhere near what Hide's and Optimus' were.

That was why they were always doing slag like that even when he snarled at them not to. Though, over all these vorns he might have accidentally somewhere along the line gotten use to Hide and Optimus being there to cover his distracted aft in the middle of a fire fight.

He knew he shouldn't, but well there were a lot of things Ratchet shouldn't do that he did. This wasn't all that different.

Only this time, it was. Because Ironhide and Optimus were halfway across this falling city fighting for their own lives and he was on his own near the back at the moment.

Habit and medical protocols won out over thought though when he saw that struggling, leaking frame in the mud. He dove in and went to work without much thought more then that.

Whole mind narrowing down to the task of trying to keep this slaggin' might as well be youngling alive. He never saw the incoming death from above at all. Would have met death without even knowing what hit him.

That is, if a crimson blur hadn't chose that moment to come flying in from out of no where and crashing into that swooping seeker full force.

"Hey aft-hat!" Sideswipe's echoing war cry sounded. "Pick on somebot your own fraggin' size!"

The swooping weight of the seeker had no time to correct for the suddenly flash of frontliner and the impact sent them both down to the muddy ground in a crash of metal and frames.

"SIDESWIPE!" Ratchet found himself screaming, optics blown wide at the sight just before him. Whole frame snapping up and rushing forward. He'd already lost the poor spark he'd been trying to save. That spark giving out just before Sideswipe crashed in, and now all Ratchet could see was the cloud of splattered ash, mud, and squealing metal.

Surging out of the ditch he'd found himself in, weapons systems that had shifted to stand by coming in a blur he ran forward only to yelp with a duck as the two crashed mechs came back up in a rush.

The seeker snarled, claws and a blade tipped blaster slashing as he struggled to his knees. Trying to take the red frontliner out before Sides could get his feet back under him, but Sides had not lived through the Rings by being that easy to kill.

He sprang up in a twist of limbs, blades already drawn, and whole frame echoing with the force of his own growls.

Ratchet stood there froze for what felt like a breem, but it all happened in less then twenty nanos.

Sideswipe just avoided the claws swiped for him and then the blade, his own right blade slashing froward and taking out a huge chunk of the larger mech. But his left leg was heavily damaged, twisted at the knee and leaking. It buckled under the weight he had to suddenly give it when he tried to doge the next swing of a hit.

This one he couldn't, and the full force of the Con's hit slammed into his already damaged middle. A grunt tore out of the red mech as he was flung backward. Landing hard on his back, arms filing and busted leg screaming.

Then a real yelp was torn out of him as that massive seeker latched hold with clawed hands into his already damaged leg and ripped him back into range.

The whirl of charging plasma rang out as Sides's dark optics open through the pain to find a end of a blaster above his face but then a scream was torn free. But not form him.

Now his optics widened as the huge weight over him suddenly buckled to the side and the blaster that had been held over him clattered down onto his face.

With the hand and most of the arm still attached.

 _Huh._ Sideswipe actually had the time to consider. _That's odd._

And then his gaze was swinging to the side to find not the expected gold of his brother, but the yellow and red frame of Ratchet instead.

The CMO was snarling, buzz saw whirling and sparking as he charged in swinging.

"Get _off_ him!" Ratchet yelled, swiping out with his saw again, taking out a good bit of armor from the mech he'd already downed one arm. The injured seeker was howling in pain, trying and failing to make it to his feet.

"Slaggin' glitch!" He screamed, swiping out with his claws and catching Ratchet in the side, but it just lost the fragger another hunk of metal as Ratchet swung back. Throwing his weight forward to keep himself between the Con and the struggling red twin.

Another roar of pain as Ratchet slashed again and again, trying to end this quickly, but the seeker was batting around too much. Another good hit smacked Ratchet almost off his feet, knocking him hard enough to make him see stars.

Then a cut off cry of pain and even though Ratchet was swinging right back to the fight he had to pull himself up short as the huge black frame arched backward, grasping and choking and failing as the end of a dueling blade pierced out the center his chest with a spray of energon, spark flares, and shattered metal before slowly going still and crumbling to the side.

Sunstreaker gave the glitch one last hard quick to free his left blade from the Cons' back as he snarled down at the dead frame.

"Keep your slaggin' claws off my brother." He spit, dark optics seething.

A sudden silence-at least to Ratchet's audios-followed as they all were left their panting before Sideswipe let out a wet sounding chuckle.

"Took ya long enough, Sunny."

Both the golden twin and the medic's gazes snapped back to him then to find the red mech trying to push himself up right on the ground.

Ratchet gasped, spark squeezing at the sight of the literal _pool_ of energon already forming under Sideswipe. The yellow and red mech was there in a nano. Crashing to his knees and quickly swatting away Sides' hands from the way. Quickly attempting to stop the rapid leaking the frontliner was doing.

For once Sideswipe didn't try to stop him which proved for itself how bad he was hurting. Enough so that Sunstreaker was staggering sightly as he rushed to his brother's side. Optics still trained around them and the battle going on. Though for the most part it had moved on from here.

Still, his blades were out and his engine was snarling.

"Stupid fragger." Sunstreaker gripped at his twin lightly, looking down at the energon all over him. Watching as Ratchet managed to stop most of the worse leaking and go about stabilizing him.

"What the slag were you thinking!" Ratchet snarled as he worked, half to make sure Sideswipe stayed lucid and half to keep himself from shaking.

Sideswipe just shrugged through. Holding himself up in a backward bend of hands almost lazily half laying there half sitting there watching the medic work.

"I don't know. Stop him I guess." He admitted.

Ratchet spared him a glare as he worked.

"Okay, it wasn't the best idea I've ever had." Sides shrugged.

"You think?!" Ratchet seethed. "He could have _killed_ you."

"Uh, Ratchet, we're frontliners and ex-gladiators. Could have killed us is kind of old information." Sideswipe chuckled. "Don't get so worked up about it."

Ratchet just snarled in return.

Sideswipe chuckled at him again, optics shifting between his guarding brother and the medic he'd tried to protect who ended up protecting him. Optics shifting over him as they both did a lot of the time. Still trying to figure out this strange mech.

This medic that actually seemed to care.

About _them_ of all things.

The twins still didn't get it, but they had started trying to repay all the careful fixes Ratchet had been give them.

Then Sideswipe's optics widened as he focused in on the yellow and red metal to find a thick trail of blue.

"Hey!" He snapped. "Are you leaking!?"

Sunstreaker's gaze swung down as Ratchet cast a glance at his side before he huffed. "It's a scratch."

"No, you're leaking!" Sides tried to get up but was forcibly shoved back down. Once by Ratchet and then by Sunstreaker planting a foot in the middle of his chest after Ratchet growled at him.

"I'm _fine,_ you idiot fool! Now lay the frag still and let me save you both."

"He's not hurt that bad, Ratchet." Sunstreaker grumbled, optics still watching the area around them.

"Says the mech standing there _swaying_ because of his twin's energon loss. Both of you just fraggin' shut up and let me help you for Primus sake!"

"Why do you care so much anyway?" Sunstreaker said it, but it was Sides that had thought it, and quite honestly neither of them had meant for it to come out.

But there it was.

They both blinked in shock at the sound of it before their mirror optics shifted to the suddenly still medic that slowly turned his narrow gaze back at them.

Sideswipe hadn't been afraid of that Con, but he was suddenly afraid of this medic. Though not for the entirely same reasons.

"Why do I _care?"_ He spit back at them.

Ratchet's engine turned over in anger as he went yelled.

"WHY DO I CARE!? I CARE BECAUSE YOU TWO SLAGGIN' MECHLINGS ARE TWO SLAGGIN' FOOLISH TO LOOK AFTER YOUR FRAGGIN' SELVES!"

They both jerked at the outburst.

"You slaggers are nothing but mechling! Slaggin' mechlings! And you slaggin' drive me _insane_! You never think! Always rushing in! And always getting in over your helms! And-And-And-Because I can't lose you! You hear me! I slaggin' got attached to your trouble bound afts! And I'll be damned if I let a pair of mechlings get killed out here because of me!"

The raging fit ended with his surging, ragged breaths leaving him kneeling there glaring at the pair of them who just blinked in return.

Then, with on last long look and a snort Ratchet went back to fixing Sideswipe leaving the twins staring at him. Slowly, curious but happy smiles curled up those matching faceplates and they both settled in to let him work.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	26. Only Once:Smokey,Rider,Hammer,Elita,Jolt

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Only the plot and OCs.**

 **So yeah, I'm doing another short challenge on the blogs. Have them here as well.**

 **NOPES (oh my god they actually spell Nopes, gah I can't stop laughing). Smokescreen, Outrider, Hammerdown, Elita One, Jolt. #39. "If you get arrested, I don't know you." #18. "I only fed them once!"**

* * *

If anybot had bothered to ask Smokescreen _before_ it happened he might have been able to come up with some sort of plausible explanation. Granted, it still would have been a long shot, but pit he at least could have come up with something better then _this._

"I only fed them once!" He shouted up from the hole he had both literately and metaphorically dug around himself this evening, and yes, yes he did know how much of a slaggin' pore excuse that was.

He did not need Outrider and Hammerdown standing on the rim of the burrow staring down at him with matching looks of both frustration and amusement.

"Oh yeah, sure." Hammer snarked down at him with a twinkle in his dark optics and a smirk on his face.

"Because only feeding them once will make them cling to the outside of our ship and make them follow you half way across the galaxy. That makes perfect sense, Smokey." Outrider finished with a look of his own.

Frankly, Smokescreen wanted to punch him a bit. He hoped the seething glare he was shooting up at them was at least some what doing the trick of portraying that but quite honestly it was hard to be intimidating with luminescent floating space bunnies swimming through the air around you while the baby of the group gnawed on his chevron.

Elita, standing off to the side of his two fellow scouts, had a similar look on her faceplate. Hers was a little more pinched though. No doubt already knowing how Prowl and Ratchet were going to handle this.

Yeah … Smokey could already hear the lecture.

"Smokey," Elita sighed, optics locked on the floating puffs of silver and pink.

"I know, I don't care." He shot back, trying his best to ignore Jolt as the small blue mech edged his way down into the burnt out hole. Mainly because he did need help and didn't want to admit it.

"If you get arrested, I don't know you." Hammer shot down at him his smirk growing.

"Because Prowl is so going to flip out." Rider added.

"Can he even arrest anybot anymore?" Hammer suddenly asked. "We don't really have Enforcers anymore."

"Oh the two of you just shut up." Smokey sighed, waiting in the cloud of floating bunnies for Jolt to come down and save him.

* * *

 **I love these dorks.**


	27. You're Safe: Bee, Dustoff

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

 **Bumblebee, Dustoff. #42. "You're safe."**

* * *

Bolting upright with a gasp baby blue optics spiraled wide. The small yellow frame panting hard, shivering against the cold dark desert night. For a klick or two Bee sat there, shaking in the darkness before slowly he cast his optics about him.

Shadows seemed to creep in from the wide expanse of nothingness around him. Arms slowly curling up around his middle he let his doorwings flutter down to pin against his back while his doorwings did the same.

The heavy shift of a frame that towered over his had him jerking to the side before he could stop himself. Only to come up short when he realized the huge dark shape laying in a slouch against the stone and sand beside him was Dustoff. Those pale red optics of his shining dim through the inky night.

"Calm yourself, young one." His deep, smooth voice rumbled around them. "You're safe. It was just a dream."

Still shivering more then he wanted to admit to Bumblebee stared up at him for a klick or two. Then, still trying to deny to clenching in his chest where his spark was rolling over in anger and pain he pushed himself up right. Wobbling slightly on tired legs that didn't want to carry him he made his way over to the huge medic's side. Not even bothering this time with asking as he scrambled up the wide expanse of his side to tuck himself down into the grooves of his armor.

Feeling younger and smaller then he had in quite a while, but relaxing despite that as Dustoff's thick arm curled down around his back to pull him closer.

"Sorry." Bee muttered softly, antennas pinned tightly to his head.

"I meant what I said, young one." Dustoff responded. "I will keep my word."

And Bee, well Bee believed him.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	28. Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Flare Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

 **Bumblebee, Flare Up, Bluestreak.**

* * *

This was a horrible idea.

Like … worse then the time Sideswipe convinced him it would be okay to glue squeaky ducks all over Grimlock when he was recharging.

Okay, granted, he'd known that was a horrible idea at the time but it had just seemed so dang funny he'd been willing to get chased around the ship by a fire breathing lizard. This time though, this time he couldn't believe he'd gotten into this mess. More impressive then that though, was _who_ it was that got him into this mess.

Crouched down behind one of the fire range blast walls he panted through his grin while he sat hunkered down there next to a giggling Bluestreak and a smirking Flare Up.

While Smokescreen yelled somewhere in the mess of all that fire extinguisher foam about turning the three of them into scrap piles. Biting back his own laughter at the scouts colorful choice of words the youngling glanced up at his companions.

"I can't believe you talked me into this." Bee laughed over at the siblings, bright optics shinning while he clutched his paint gun tighter to his chest.

"Hey don't blame me, mechling." Blue laughed back at him. "This was all _her_ idea."

"You want to blame something?" Flare Up giggled back. "Blame that brightly painted glitch for switching out all my tools with mesh cut outs."

Bee snickered. "Smokey dared intrude upon your med bay?"

"I never said the mech was smart." Flare shot back.

"Well now he's covered in foam, blocking the way out, and we're stuck in here with paint ball guns." Bluestreak chuckled. "How the pit do we get out of this one, sister?"

"Simple." Flare shot back. "Come out shooting."

And with that the brightly painted femme launched herself over the wall. Sprinting back into the blooming _sea_ of foam laughing the whole way while she fired bright balls of green paint into the mix of chaos.

For a klick Bumblebee and Bluestreak glanced at each other, then smirking launched themselves up and charged after her.

* * *

 **Oh I miss playing with Flare Up. I can't wait to get back into some stuff with her.**


	29. Believe: Smokey, Rider, Hammer,Quickfire

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers just the plot and OCs.**

 **Smokescreen, Outrider, Hammerdown, Quickfire. #91. "I don't believe you."**

 **Call it a hint.**

* * *

"I don't believe you."

Well, no real surprise there. Quickfire had never been one to jump in blindly to what they were up to. She had always been something of a voice of reason. Hanging back to the side to what the trio were up to and casting out reminders of sanity when she felt they needed it.

Even since they'd taken this scouting job for Optimus they had found themselves down in her bay looking for the well thought out words they had once had so readily, but now had to chase because they were never around.

Now was one of those times. When the three of them came looking for the answers they couldn't put together on their own. Even if it had her looking at them like this.

"Yeah, we figured you'd say that." Hammer sighed.

"Come on, mechs." She cast her bright optics about between them. "You do hear yourselves, don't you? This is … ."

"Nuts?" Smokey huffed. "Yeah we know."

"Doesn't change what we saw." Outrider huffed.

"Do you really think we'd come back saying this if we hadn't done some digging? It's crazy, yeah we know that, but that's what was there." Smokescreen finished.

"That was … eons ago, mechs." She shifted uneasily on her chair, looking back and forth between the lot of them. "That was the first thirteen. You know, the ones that killed each other. You lived with War, at least two of you. You know this story."

"That's the only reason we noticed." Outrider shot back. "It's not like this is common slag taught anymore."

"The signature was there." Hammerdown added. "I triple checked."

Leaning back in her chair Quickfire rubbed a hand over her faceplate. "Then this is something you should be telling, Optimus. Not me."

The three of them stared at her blankly for a few long klicks before Smokescreen whispered.

"Do you really think that is a good idea?"

And that was the problem wasn't? Because they knew as well as Quickfire did that it wasn't. Not now.

* * *

 **-Jaycee**


	30. Only Once: Jazz, Prowl

**Disclaimer** **: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

 **Jazz and Prowl. #15. "I only fed them once!" #164. "So … ."**

* * *

"So … ." Shifting a bit in his lean against the door frame Jazz stared over at his friend currently perched on top of his desk glaring down at his floor. "How's your orn goin', Prowler?"

Cool blue optics shot up to him, glowing with a confused fury, the likes of which Jazz had never actually seen on the black and white mech's silver faceplate before.

"How does it look like my orn is going, Jazz?" The Praxian snapped, all while kicking out lightly with one foot at the swarm of little grey things scurrying all over his floor.

Glitch mice.

Prowl's office was infested with glitch mice.

That was honestly something Jazz had not seen coming.

"Well," He drawled, wary of coming any further into the room because of all the tiny grey balls of plating and tiny feet dashing this way and that. Trying to climb up Prowl's desk only to be shooed away.

Shooed, mind you.

Not smacked.

Not squished.

Not killed.

As most sane bots tended to do with the annoying varmints. But no, not Prowl. The big fool was _shooing_ them. Like they were annoying and not carrying disease. Like he was Bumblebee or Bluestreak and not the Autobot SIC that planned out missions with kill rates and casualty lists as long as his arm because it was needed.

He was _shooing_ a min herd of rodents.

Jazz was quite sure he might now have seen everything.

"I'm not actually sure what I should say." He finally admitted, gaze still flicking about the mini green eyed devils.

"You could start by helping me!" The Praxian snapped, one toe brushing away a scurrying creature.

 _Bushing!_

"I'm not sure how you even got in this mess."

"I only fed them once!"

Jazz blinked.

Paused.

Opened his mouth.

Paused.

Closed his mouth.

And blinked again.

"Wait," Lifting a clawed hand he stared over at what he was pretty sure was his closest friend like he'd never seen him before. "You _fed_ them?"

For a klick there silence. Well, apart from the pitter patter of tiny feet. Then, Prowl pulled himself up. Doorwings pinning up high, chin lifting, and optics challenging. Trying to look sophisticated and dignified. As much as one could look those things perched up on their desk with glitch mice happily squeaking at them.

"They looked hungry." He stated calmly, as if that wasn't the weirdest thing Jazz had ever heard.

"Yeah." Jazz drawled back at him slowly before clicking over a program in his processor. Readying his internal camera. "Because that makes sense."

Then with a snap the silver mech was fleeing in a cackle of laughter. Dodging the pens getting thrown at his head as he went. He had to go find the mechling. This was just too good.

* * *

 **I love these two.**

 **-Jaycee**


	31. Carrier: Bee, Mercy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers. Just the plot and OCs.**

 **Bumblebee, Mercy. #180. "Carrier"**

* * *

Giggling the tiny bundle of yellow held so carefully in her palm reached short, chubby fingers for her faceplate. The wavy motions of limbs to new and unused to be of much use had the bright femme leaning forward to make the reaching easier for him.

It got her smacked by a small flat palm just under her optics but she smiled to him all the same. Happier now then she had ever felt in her whole life.

Glowing.

That was what Dustoff had said she was doing, but she hadn't much bothered to look in a mirror lately to find out. It didn't seem worth the effort when she could instead be grinning down at the tiny life she refused to let out of her grip.

Her little Bumblebee.

"Carrier." She purred down at him, rocking that tiny yellow form back and forth in her palms. Overjoyed by the happy gurgle it earned her. Those little limbs waving back and forth with the motion. Tiny hands patting at her faceplate.

He whirled and clicked in response to the word making her giggle.

"No, my spark." She whispered to him. "Carrier. Can you say it? Carrier."

He buzzed happily at her, little fingers hooking into the edge of her cheek plating to slide along her nose with a look of absolute fascination.

She smiled even wider at the soft sound.

"I suppose that's close enough." She told him softly. "But don't worry. You'll learn. I promise."

She leaned forward again, nuzzling into his soft squishy belly relishing the next excited giggle it got her.

"We'll have all the time in the world to get it right." She promised.

* * *

 **So this one made me laugh, and cry.**

 **-Jaycee**


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